Kayla Martell suffers from alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that causes baldness. So, you might be surprised that she just won Miss Delaware. She never would have been able to do it, she said, had she not been inspired by a five-year-old who suffers from the same condition.

Martell understands what it's like to lose her hair as a child. Her part widened when she was 10 years old and from that point on people looked at her differently. She competed without a wig several times, and finally won Miss Delaware after wearing a blonde wig, fearful that people wouldn't want to approach her if she was bald.

She frequently volunteers in children's hospitals and has been praised by Americorps.